San Francisco's pee-repellent public walls

Mohammed Nuru, director of San Francisco Public Works, talks about the features of a public toilet at the Tenderloin Pit Stop as he is interviewed in San Francisco, March 19, 2015.

Public urination has become enough of a problem in San Francisco that the city's department of public works has covered a few of its public walls with a paint that repels pee and sprinkles it back onto the pants of offenders, according to an article from NBC Bay Area.

It is only a pilot program, but skeptics wonder how well the material will really keep the city's walls dry. Some are pushing instead for other measures, such as more public bathrooms. (Tweet This)

But German cities have reported success at using liquid-repelling paint to keep public peeing down, according to the article.

At least a few members of the public works department itself say a recent drop in steam cleaning requests partially results from a program that provides staffed public bathrooms throughout the city.